Swanstep's Destiny
by Waterfall the Writer
Summary: Brown is a former BloodClan cat, who has joined ThunderClan. Brown, who is renamed Swanstep, struggles to fit in. Cats are not always the nicest. Will Swanstep be able to gain ThunderClan's trust?
1. Discovery of a Forbidden Romance

**ADOPTED FROM DRIZZLESTREAM313!**

 **BTW the first 3 chapters are Drizzlestream313's, but I just put them in in case you can't find Drizzlestream's version**

 **AND CHEK OUT DRIZZLESTREAM313's VERSION, DRIZZLESTREAM IS THE ORIGINAL WRITER OF THIS STORY, I JUST ADOPTED IT**

Brown limped across the meadow, dragging her wounded, skinny body. It's been only a moon since she was exiled from BloodClan, and she hoped that if she kept on going, there will be at least one place that will accept her. Brown settled next to a pond, and she bent down and lapped the icy, cold water. She then licked the stinging wound that Bone had given her. She shivered as she recalled the day she was kicked out BloodClan.

"Brown, you disgust me," Bone had meowed, his head not facing her. "Only one warrior was killed by you. Only one warrior's blood stained on your paws. You should've killed more warriors, Brown. Then we would've won the battle."

"I was helping my other Clanmates!" Brown protested, knowing that this was not fully true. She remembered the pure white ThunderClan warrior that had given her some serious wounds to remember forever.

* * *

"No matter, we don't help each other Brown, everyone fends for themselves. Clearly you've forgotten, Brown. I banish you from BloodClan." She was shocked.

"It's not my fault, you're the one who called the retreat," she had sneered as she left. Bone angrily scratched her muzzle. She shivered. The cold had taken the forest and she needed to find somewhere to stay. Then she remembered Whitestorm's Clan, ThunderClan. Yes, maybe they would take her in! But not if they knew she killed one of their warriors; she couldn't tell them, ever. She went down the path that led to the place of the battle. No one was there. Then she smelled four different scents. _The Clans!_ she thought. But which was ThunderClan? She looked around, then she saw a light brown she-cat with the same scent as Whitestorm. Also a tom with fur the color of a lake.

 _YES!_ she thought. I can do something with him! Hmmm… What can she do to convince him she wasn't bad? She strained to hear what they were saying.

"Lakestorm, we can't go on like this," the she-cat with black fur meowed softly. How would she introduce herself to them? What if they recognized her? Brown thought.

Wait… she thought. The tom was ShadowClan! Brown needed ThunderClan. Then she scented the she-cat. Her scent was different. She must be ThunderClan!

"I know Cedarheart, but we have to, I-I won't lose you." The tom spoke unusually softly. So that was her name! Cedarheart!

"Excuse me, I'm Brown, I-I want to join your Clan," Brown spoke softly.

The brown tabby she-cat flinched, and her gaze was brightly mixed with surprise and fear.

"Uh, how much did you hear?" she asked with trouble in her voice. I can't waste this chance! Brown thought.

"Hear what?" she lied. The deep brown she-cat relaxed. But surprise kept clutching her belly. Brown could tell.

"Um, you can't just join ThunderClan; you have to ask our leader, Bluestar," the tabby spoke calmly. Brown realized the light blue tom was staring into her. He must not trust me, she thought. He was Lakestorm! Why are they so scared? Are they not suppose to be in love? But if she was to win the she-cat's trust then she could never tell a soul.

"Then take me to Bluestar, please." She tried to sound as desperate as possible. The deep brown she-cat flinched and looked at Lakestorm then turned around and nodded.

"Follow me," she ordered. She followed her down a path, then she stopped.

"This is the Thunderpath, run across when I tell you or you'll be hit by a monster," said the tabby. Okay, bossy furball! she felt like saying, but to join their Clan she would have to be polite at first. So she nodded. a couple moments later she yelled.

"Now!" Brown jumped across the Thunderpath in one big leap. After the she-cat crossed as well she turned to Brown.

"Where did you learn to do that?" she asked.

"Oh, my mother taught me some fighting moves," she lied. The brown cat simply nodded. They continued down the path until she saw a camp full of cats. They all looked shocked.

"Don't tell me we're taking in another kittypet!" a light gray she-cat complained.

"Yeah, plus she looks so weak, she wouldn't hurt a mouse I bet," A black tom sneered.

"Stop being so rude!" A silver she-cat scolded. "Come dear, I'll take you to Bluestar," the silver she-cat offered. Brown nodded. "I'm Silverpelt," she meowed as she led her to a small den.

"I'm Brown."

"Hello. This is ThunderClan. As you can see, you will not always be welcomed by everyone. But Bluestar is a fine leader, so… She'll make the best decision. This is the leader's den, go ahead and talk to Bluestar," Silverpelt meowed kindly. Brown nodded gratefully. She stepped inside the den.

"Who's there!" A voice came from the clearing.

"I'm Brown, and I wish to join your Clan."

"Why, and where did you come from?" Bluestar spoke again.

"I need a place to stay and I promise I will serve your Clan well. I am a loner from the east woods," she replied.

"I see. Come in."

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Warriors series!**


	2. Brown to Swanstep

**DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT MY IDEA, OR MY CHAPTER. THIS IS ADOPTED FROM DRIZZLESTREAM313**

After showing Bluestar some battle moves, she agreed to let her join ThunderClan. She had already made the announcement and not very many cats were happy.

"I have decided what Brown's name will be. Brown, from this day on, you will be known as Swanstep," Bluestar called. "You have shown brightly talented battle moves, and you are certainly old enough, so we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

"At least she's getting a Clan name," muttered Scratchwind.

Suddenly a graceful ginger figure appeared out of the brambles.

"My name is Sandstorm, ThunderClan's deputy, and this is Silverpelt, as you already know. We'll explain everything you need to know," the ginger she-cat spoke. Sandstorm signaled her tail for her to follow.

 _Swanstep!_ she thought. _What a lovely name._

She was a cream she-cat with a brown underbelly. Her cream fur was much prettier than her brown. Even though many cats thought she was beautiful. She followed the ginger and silver she-cats through some bracken.

"Let's stop here, I'll explain everything. First of all, you need to learn the warrior code. This is the code we live by, we must follow it. It was created by StarClan, our ancestors. All you have to do is believe and live by the warrior code and one day when our time in the forest is over, we will join them too. The warrior code also states that the four Clans are separate, no friendship, no love. well, that's about it. See you around." If the different Clans couldn't love one another then had Cedarheart broken the code? Should she ask? No, it probably didn't matter.

"Swanstep, you can go on border patrol with Nightfrost, Cedarheart, and Tombstone," Sandstorm called down. _My first border patrol!_ she thought happily. But her happiness faded when Nightfrost grunted.

"Don't be so mean Nightfrost, at least give her a chance." said Cedarheart softly. Nightfrost ran his tail against Cedarhearts flank.

"Okay, but if this makes us weaker to the other Clans I'm gonna go crazy," he said just as softly. Why didn't anyone like her! Then she saw the love in Nightfrost's eyes and Swanstep realized with a pang of sadness that he loved Cedarheart, the brown she-cat she first met when she came here. She followed the patrol to a rocky clearing.

 _Does he know that Cedarheart loves someone else?_

"This is Sunningrocks, ThunderClan and RiverClan have fought over this territory for years," Cedarheart explained.

"Like she'll remember. She's just a kittypet," Tombstone sneered.

"I'm not a kittypet!" She felt a growl rumbling in her throat.

"Oh yeah, I forgot, you're a rogue who got kicked out because you're too weak!" Tombstone continued.

"No! I'm a loner who is now a ThunderClan cat. If you don't believe it I'll show you!" Her claws unsheathed. Tombstone backed away. Thanks to BloodClan, her claws as sharp as a knife.

 _I finally got something to thank BloodClan,_ She thought as she sheathed her claws. _Why doesn't anyone like me?_ She thought sadly. She realized that it must be hard to have a complete stranger enter their Clan. Suddenly she heard a movement, she moved quickly and almost a second later she was carrying a mouse.

"Nice catch!" Cedarheart said kindly. Swanstep nodded in reply.

"For a kittypet." She heard Tombstone mutter under his breath. She shot him a furious glance as they continued the patrol. She scented Lakestorm's scent as they continued. _Must be ShadowClan,_ she thought. Once she returned to camp she dropped the mouse she was holding and placed it into the fresh-kill pile. Nightfrost continued staring at Cedarheart expecting her to meet his gaze, but she never did. Swanstep felt bad for him even if she had been mean to him, though she really liked Cedarheart for being so kind to her and taking her into ThunderClan. She wondered if Cedarheart really loved Lakestorm or she was just thinking foolish thoughts. Suddenly a figure appeared. It was Scratchwind.

"Uh, hey... I'll show you the warriors den," he said awkwardly. She followed him to a large den filled with cats. She remembered a cream colored she-cat from her arrival announcement. She was Dewfur. Dewfur gave her scornful look.

"Taking her in will only weaken the Clan! Sometimes I wonder if Bluestar has lost her mind," She mewed angrily. Swanstep shot her an angry glance, but she was inwardly confused. _In BloodClan you'd get your pelt ripped off for questioning Scourge._

Bracing herself as she held on to that thought for a couple of moments, she made herself comfortable, so that she can at least sleep. She shivered, and yet there was a bright sun still circling the sky.

 _Wow, this place is way more different than BloodClan,_ Swanstep thought. She thought about Scourge, and her mind blazed with anger. _My old life in BloodClan is no more. I'm a ThunderClan cat at heart! At least this place fends for the youngest kits and the oldest elders._

Swanstep curled herself in the comfy feathers and lapped at the wet moss Scratchwind gave her earlier. It tasted clear, and a bit salty, but that was alright.

* * *

She padded out of the den, wanting to get fresh air, but stepped on a thorn on the way out. She winced, and Silverpelt must've heard it, because she came, hurrying over to her aid.

"Are you okay?" she mewed with worry. Swanstep grunted in reply. "Come on," Silverpelt meowed, seeming a bit more relieved as she checked that the thorn wasn't that deep. After checking with Spottedleaf she ran to Scratchwind.

"What do you want now?" he snarled. She was taken back by his tone. She was planning to ask him what she could do to help the Clan. But she wasn't going to deal with this today.

"Never mind." He liked her for a day then hated her the next. Is that how things worked here?

* * *

She decided to do some hunting. She returned with three mice, a rabbit, and two voles. Everyone was so happy. Even Scratchwind was impressed.

"Wow, you're a really good-" Scratchwind began to compliment her but she just walked away. Scratchwind had to learn how to say sorry. She felt his gaze as she dropped her prey at the fresh-kill pile. She curled up in her nest and went for a nice, long sleep...


	3. Apologies

**DISCLAIMER: THIS CHAPTER WAS NOT WRITTEN BY ME, IT IS DRIZZLESTREAM'S**

She woke to the sounds of apprentices running. She got up and headed out for the clearing. Then she saw Scratchwind walk up to her.

"Sorry about yesterday, I was in a bad mood. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," he meowed with sadness.

"It's okay, I'm kinda use to the hatred." She replied thinking of BloodClan, though she wasn't really up for another nightmare about Scourge. She gave a long sigh.

"Oh, that's terrible. Actually, what was it like? I mean, from where you came?" he asked curiously.

"Well it's normal to see bloodshed on a daily basis, if you get hurt you have to take care of it yourself, and… and-"

"I understand if it's hard for you, you don't have to tell me everything if it makes you feel uncomfortable." He cut her off soothingly, his eyes full of concern.

"You don't understand! I come from BloodClan," she whispered. She couldn't hold it in any longer. Someone had to know. She had expected a shocked and maybe a furious glare. But instead he just nodded, followed by the calmest gaze she had ever seen.

"It's okay. all that matters is that you're a loyal ThunderClan cat," he whispered in her ear. _Oh, Scratchwind... why are you so kind?_

"I wasn't included in the battle, of course, since I was a kit, but I saw everything." A wild light overwhelmed Scratchwind's blue eyes. "Oh, yeah. Fireheart-" he flicked his tail to the athletic, flame-colored tom "-is that battle's hero. He's the one who fought off Scourge."

"Yeah. I know." Swanstep recognized the bright, orange coat and his pure, green eyes.

Scratchwind opened his jaws to speak, but just then, Dawnflower yelled, "Scratchwind! Lead a hunting patrol to the WindClan border."

Scratchwind nodded and flicked his tail at Swanstep to sign that he was going. Swanstep dipped her head, and watched as he padded away.

"Hey." Swanstep jumped as Larchsky headed towards her, just back from the evening patrol with Hollyleaf. Larchsky made herself comfortable next to Swanstep. "You know, you really stole my brother's heart." She nodded towards Scratchwind as he exited camp and passed the training hollow.

"Are you sure? I mean, it was only a talk."

"Well, he seems to be in love with you." Larchsky stood up once more, stretching her back and taking long, nice breaths.

"But that's not true!" she protested. Larchsky only chuckled and left. Swanstep pushed it to the back of her mind and headed towards Dawnflower for a hunting patrol.


	4. Dilemma

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN WARRIORS, OR THIS STORY IDEA**

 **ADOPTED FROM DRIZZLESTREAM313**

 **Please check out Drizzlestream313 for the first three chapters.**

Swanstep was unable to keep the lingering thoughts about Scratchwind away. _Does he really love me? Is Larchsky right?_

A sharp mew from Dawnflower snapped her from her thoughts.

"Swanstep! Are we hunting, or dawdling in the forest? We have a clan to feed"

"Sorry." Swanstep mumbled.

Dawnflower turned away, plunging into the forest. Swanstep sighed.

 _Do I love him?_

Swanstep shook her head to clear her thoughts. _I have to hunt for the clan._

She focused, forgetting about everything. She trotted toward camp. Catches held by their tails. She had two mice, and two squirrels.

"Good job, Swanstep!" Scratchwind meowed, as he caught sight of her.

Swanstep nodded, to acknowledge him, but her mouth was to full to talk.

"Do you need help?" Scratchwind asked. Swanstep dropped the squirrels in reply.

 _Maybe he does love me after all..._ Swanstep thought. Her expression broke into a grin.

They walked back to camp together, pelts pressed.

Camp was not how Swanstep had pictured it. It was not normal.

"Swanstep! Thank goodness you're back!" Dawnflower exclaimed.

"Why?" Swanstep questioned. She looked around camp. Glares of accusation shot in Swanstep's direction. Larchsky's expression was desperate, and her eyes pleaded as Swanstep came into her sight.

"What's going on?" Scratchwind demanded.

"It's best if you stay out of this, Scratchwind." Bluestar meowed.

Everyone backed away, pulling a confused Scratchwind with them.

"Do you know this cat?" Bluestar demanded.

 _Fern!_

"Um.." Swanstep meowed.

"He claims you were once part of BloodClan, and that he wants to bring you back to BloodClan. He also says that some cat called Bone allowed you to." Bluestar meowed, her voice ringing through the clearing.

"Brown! It's me, Fern!" Fern yowled.

"Is this true?" Bluestar demanded.

"Yes." Swanstep said in a small voice.

"You can come back, Brown." Fern meowed, but it was coming out as a plead.

"My name is _not_ Brown." Swanstep meowed, an edge to her voice.

Fern stared at her with confusion.

"My name is _Swanstep_." She meowed

" _Swanstep_. I love you. Please come back to BloodClan. Bone said you could, too."

Scratchwind looked like he wanted to claw the fur off of Fern's back.

"No. Tell Bone that he's not worth my time. And neither is Scourge. Leave, and don't come back. _Fern_." she replied.

"Please, Swanstep! I love you." Fern begged.

"Leave!" she hissed.

"Yeah, you heard her. _Leave_." Scratchwind hissed.

Swanstep glanced around. Larchsky's eyes were filled with relief.

 _Is it because I chose ThunderClan over BloodClan.._

 _And Scratchwind over Fern?_

Scratchwind was now squaring up to the BloodClan cat.

Fern's gaze shot to Swanstep, full of frustration.

"Fern." By then, the whole clan knew her secrets, all because of _Fern_.

"Fern. Just leave now, Swanstep has already told you her reply." Bluestar meowed.

Fern held Bluestar's gaze evenly, though Fern's gaze was clouded with confusion. _Probably because he is used to leaders having no pity, and killing for not following an order._ "You are not to speak for Swanstep."

"I am not. I am just restating the fact that you can't accept: Swanstep has rejected you." Bluestar answered.

"No, she has not. You are keeping her captive here, making her catch prey for you. You're _making_ her say these things that aren't true." Fern meowed.

Swanstep growled in frustration.

"Fern, can't you see? I have a new clan, new friends. I love my clan, and I hate BloodClan." Swanstep meowed, snarling the last word.

"I know they're making you say these things. I'll save you, _Brown_." Fern meowed, leaping onto Bluestar. The whole clan broke out into chaos. Swanstep tore Fern off of Bluestar.

"Fern, run. Before they kill you. I was not lying, trust me on this. Or you will kill yourself trying to get something back that wasn't yours to start from." Swanstep whispered. Though she hated BloodClan, Fern had been one of her best friends.

"What about you? They're keeping you prisoner, aren't they?" Fern hissed.

"No, they aren't. Some day, I will find you again. But I don't want you to die." Swanstep meowed.

Fern seemed to finally accept her words. His expression turned wide, and hurt. But love still shone in it, as he tore away from battle, into the forest.

 _Bye, Fern._

"He ran away!" Swanstep yowled.

"Chase him!" Larchsky yowled.

"No. Let him go, he was just torn from grief." Silverpelt meowed.

"Bluestar. Are you okay?" Swanstep meowed in concern.

"Yes." the blue-gray leader replied.

"Go back to what you were doing. Before Fern came." Silverpelt meowed.

"Swanstep. I want to see you in my den." Bluestar meowed.

Swanstep padded into Bluestar's den.

"Why did you lie?" Bluestar asked. Her voice betrayed no anger, just seeming curious. Her eyes showed understanding.

 _Did she go through something like this?_ Swanstep wondered.

"I wasn't sure if I would get accepted. I promise, you can trust me." Swanstep meowed.

"Considering you rejected him, you can stay." Bluestar meowed.

"Thank you, Bluestar." Swanstep meowed, dipping her head.

"You let deliberately him go, didn't you?" Bluestar meowed.

Swanstep gaped in astonishment. "You saw that?"

"Yes." Bluestar answered.

"Um.." Swanstep meowed. She tried to find words to justify her actions.

"I just couldn't let him get hurt!" Swanstep blurted out.

"It's okay.. I once felt that about a few cats." Bluestar meowed.

"Thank you." Swanstep meowed.

"Just.. you can trust us. We are your clan. You never need to keep secrets from us again." Bluestar meowed, waving her tail to dismiss Swanstep.

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter, review.**

 **Feel free to let me know any thoughts about this, and even leave some suggestions :)**

 **~Waterfall**


	5. Testing

**There hasn't been many reviews on this story, but I decided to post another chapter anyway :)**

 **amberleaf4273- Thanks for the advice :) And also thanks for the review :)**

Swanstep felt a rush of relief, exiting Bluestar's den. She was glad she had notified Scratchwind about her past, before Fern came. Or else things could be really bad...

"Swanstep! You're alright.. I hope." Scratchwind meowed.

"Yep." she responded, glad that Scratchwind wasn't angry about Fern.

"Scratchwind.. thank you." Swanstep meowed.

"For what? You're the magic." Scratchwind meowed.

She twined tails with Scratchwind, their pelts pressing.

They walked, together to the fresh-kill pile. Instead of glares and hostile glances tossed at her, there were gazes of admiration faced to her.

She and Scratchwind shared a squirrel, before Scratchwind was called to watch camp for the night.

"Thank you, Swanstep." Larchsky meowed, voice filled with emotion.

"For what?" Swanstep asked. She echoed the words Scratchwind had said.

"You would've broken, shattered Scratchwind's heart if you had gone with Fern. He's obviously head-over-paws in love with you." Larchsky meowed.

"In only a few days." Swanstep meowed, realizing how ThunderClan already trusted her, though only being with them for a few days.

"Come on. Let's go to the warrior's den! It's time to sleep, you know, Swanstep." Larchsky teased.

She and Larchsky padded into the warrior's den. Tombstone lifted his head to acknowledge them, and his usual hostile glare at Swanstep was now a normal glance.

 _I've earned their respect and trust.. By lying._ Swanstep thought.

 _I lied about where I came from, only to gain their respect._

As Swanstep realized she'd went too far into the den, and her nest was in the front where it was cold, she turned back.

"You know, you needn't go to there. You can have Brightheart's nest, since she moved into the Nursery." Larchsky meowed gently, using her tail to point to Brightheart's nest. It was positioned next to Larchsky's.

 _It seems I have made a new friend._ Swanstep thought.

"Thanks." she meowed to Larchsky.

"I'm the one who should be thanking you." Larchsky replied, as she curled up in her nest.

Swanstep closed her eyes.

 _Morning._ Swanstep realized. She had the _best_ sleep she had ever had in her whole life...

Swanstep scrambled out of her nest, finding Scratchwind curled up in the nest beside her's.

 _He gets to sleep in because he was on watch last night._

Swanstep pressed her nose into his pelt, and left to find which patrol she was in.

"Swanstep! Join the border patrol with Cloudtail!" Sandstorm yowled.

Swanstep dipped her head, showing she had heard what Sandstorm had said.

"Nightfrost, Cedarheart, Tombstone, and Dewfur. Hunting patrol. Bluestar, Fireheart, Dustpelt, and Graystripe, hunt. " Sandstorm continued.

"Lakestorm. Could you escort Spottedleaf and Silverpelt to collect herbs? Thanks." Sandstorm added, realizing that she had forgotten the patrol for herbs.

Swanstep tuned out of the rest. She met with her patrol of Larchsky and Cloudtail. Larchsky ran toward the entrance of the camp, followed by Cloudtail.

Swanstep ran to catch up to her two patrol members.

"Which border?" Swanstep asked.

"Twolegplace border." Larchsky whispered. Swanstep looked at Larchsky, the same expression of knowing on her face. Sandstorm and Bluestar were _testing_ her.

"So they don't trust me." Swanstep murmured under her breath.

"Hey! Larchsky, Swanstep! Are we patrolling the border or not?" Cloudtail meowed.

Swanstep sighed, catching up to the long haired white tom. Sandstorm and Bluestar did have a right to, especially if the warrior had killed a warrior of theirs.

"Better be on best behavior." Larchsky whispered, too low for Cloudtail to hear.

Swanstep nodded, she opened her mouth to taste the air. She smelled a fresh scent that wasn't supposed to be there. _Fern! Not again!_

"Swanstep." Fern hissed from a bush.

 _I cannot betray my clan by letting him go again. I'm sorry, but I did tell you off last time Fern..._

"Fern! Get out of there!" Swanstep yowled, deliberate loudness.

Cloudtail's eyes sparked in interest, but jumped as backup for Swanstep in case she had to fight.

"Why are you here? Get out of here, before I _flay_ you." Swanstep growled, ice forming in her voice.

Fern refused to budge. "Bro-"

Swanstep leaped at the tom, her unsheathed claws scoring down his flank, cutting through his skin in one hefty swipe. Fern howled in pain.

"Swanstep! You have to help! Our camp is being over-run by cats! Scourge has fled, and Bone might die!" Fern meowed, his voice desperate.

"An attempt to get me back into BloodClan? Please, I've already declined you." Swanstep meowed, achingly polite.

"Fine!" Fern yowled, turning his back and walking the other way. Upon realizing Swanstep wasn't following, he turned his head.

"You're really not coming back, are you, Brown?" Fern meowed.

"No." Swanstep answered. She could see the grief and anguish in Fern's eyes, but acceptance shone in it.

"Bye, _Swanstep_. I will see you again one day, I promise. And I understand that I am not the one who you love anymore, go live your life. I want you to be happy, I once thought it was with me, but I see you have found new love." Fern meowed.

 _Thank you, Fern, for finally realizing that my place is no longer with you, but with ThunderClan._

"Goodbye, Fern." Swanstep meowed in reply, as the tom fled down into the alleyway.

"Should we finish the patrol?" Swanstep piped up, after a few minutes of silence.

"No. This was to check your loyalty, Swanstep. If you would go with him." Cloudtail meowed.

"Wait, so you planned for him to come?" Swanstep questioned, her gaze setting on Larchsky in confusion. Why had her friend not told her?  
 _Or is it because I told Scratchwind? And Bluestar wanted to test me..._

"No, he came, and then we questioned your loyalty. But we thought you might flee to find him and come back.." Cloudtail meowed.

"You can trust me." Swanstep meowed.

"I know I can." Larchsky stepped in.

"And the whole clan knows so too." Cloudtail meowed in response, proudly gazing at Swanstep, as if he was her father.

Swanstep purred.

"And about the patrol?" Larchsky prompted.

"Ah, that. There is a real twolegplace patrol patrolling out there, we were just testing you, as I said before." Cloudtail meowed, walking toward the direction of the camp, leaving Swanstep with Larchsky.

"Thank you." Swanstep meowed.

"No problem, I owed you." Larchsky replied.

"Larchsky! Swanstep!" Cloudtail hollered. They both ran to catch up to the tom. Nearing camp, Sandstorm and Bluestar were waiting patiently beneath the rock.

Cloudtail went to them, and whispered to them.

 _He must be giving the report on what happened at the border._

Bluestar nodded in approval. Sandstorm walked up to her.

"Could Larchsky and I go on a walk?" Swanstep asked Sandstorm.

"Sure." Sandstorm meowed.

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter :)**

 **I will always be grateful for Drizzlestream313 letting me adopt this story :)  
Please review!**

 **~Waterfall~**


	6. Breakdowns

**Rainsky of Thund- Thank you for the review :)**

 **turtleheart4273- Thank you for the advice and the review :)**

 **MagaNerd-My sincere apologies and thanks.**

"Are you going to have kits?" Larchsky meowed.

"Wait, are you saying I'm pregnant?" Swanstep asked.

"No, I mean are you _planning_ to have kits. Like with my brother." Larchsky meowed. Swanstep shrugged awkwardly.

"What about you? Got your eyes on any toms?" Swanstep asked.

"Nightfrost, I guess." Larchsky replied.

"He's in love with Cedarheart. Who's in love with- a tom." Swanstep meowed.

I almost revealed Cedarheart's secret! I have to be more careful.

Luckily, Larchsky didn't seem to notice. If she did, she kept her feelings very contained.

"I know." Larchsky sighed.

"Wait, you know who Cedarheart likes?" Swanstep asked.

"No. Why?" Larchsky replied.

"Just wondering. Because I want to know personally." Swanstep meowed, keeping eye-contact with her friend so it didn't seem like she was lying.

"So, Nightfrost. I would try to put in a word for you, but he honestly hates me because I wasn't born here." Swanstep sighed.

"I know. I've been trying to convince myself out of my crush, but I can't." Larchsky meowed.

"I guess that's like Fern." Swanstep meowed.

"Yeah! About that cat, Fern. If you wouldn't mind, could you tell me a little about him? He seems awfully loyal to you." Larchsky exclaimed.

Swanstep stiffened. She never liked talking about her past. It made cats far too sympathetic to her, and sympathy was new to her. She always felt awkward whenever a cat felt bad for her, besides her close friends. She wouldn't consider Larchsky close with her yet, but their relationship was definitely getting there. She should definitely open up to Larchsky.

"Okay." Swanstep meowed. Larchsky's eager eyes were gazing up at her. Swanstep couldn't help but burst out in a laugh at the she-cat's serious face. Larchsky started laughing too.

When they finally stopped laughing, Swanstep started in a grave tone.

"When I was born, I was born into BloodClan. I was an only kit, since my siblings had died. Scourge saw me as the strong one, and unluckily, he decided I was special. He decided to train me instead of traditionally, mothers would teach their kits how to behave in BloodClan. I was taught, from the moment my eyes opened, I was taught the exact opposite of what the Warrior Code values. I was taught to kill, steal, and to overpower anyone I could besides Scourge and Bone." Swanstep stopped to make sure Larchsky was following. Larchsky seemed to be absorbing all the information, a look of pure shock was plastered on her face.

"Keep going." Larchsky encouraged.

"BloodClan was as nice as Scourge to any passing cat. Passing cats were attacked, and normally fatally wounded. Sometimes they were lucky and were escorted out of the territory. On somewhat of a border patrol with Scourge is when I met Fern. He was a bit older than me, Scourge made me attack him. So I leaped on him, and I was fighting with him. I ended up in defeat, and Fern requested to join BloodClan. I was shocked that Fern would want to join such a bloodthirsty community, but I kept silent because I was too afraid to speak up." Swanstep meowed. She drew a deep breath. Her voice was starting to get shaky.

"Scourge let him join, and we were kind of enemies for a while. By the way, after Fern defeated me, Scourge starved me for a few weeks as a punishment. Anyways, Fern saved my life, he sneaked me food. I almost died, and he saved me. After that, we became like, best of friends. One day, Scourge put us to war against the clan that I didn't know was ThunderClan. I helped Fern, because Fern almost died. That's why he didn't come for me immediately after the war. Scourge saw me help Fern, and he exiled me. Fern was fatally injured at that point; I didn't even know if he'd recover or die. But I had to leave. So I found ThunderClan. And I decided to stay. I never had any idea Fern would come for me... but I will always remember him. Knowing Fern, I would've guessed that he'd be worried about me. And knowing BloodClan, when they realize they are far too weak, they ask for the things they have already cast out. Scourge and Bone knew Fern was my best friend, so I'm guessing they sent him out to ask for me. But I- I rejected him. I know it was the right thing to do though..." Swanstep broke off. She'd never told the story of her life. Saying it aloud was more traumatizing than she'd expected. She felt herself reliving all the moments.

The hollow hunger in her belly, and the panic when she was eating the food Fern had sneaked to her...

"Thanks, for being so... open about it." Larchsky meowed, her expression stunned. Larchsky was probably surprised that Swanstep had decided to be _this_ open about it.

"Hey, friends are supposed to be open." Swanstep meowed with a small smile.

"Honestly, I wish Scourge would just.. die off. He's so cruel, even to his own clanmates." Larchsky meowed.

"Yeah. I'd appreciate if you told me a bit about your past, Larchsky." Swanstep meowed.

"Okay. It's not a very sad story. My life is, so simple compared to yours. Anyways, let's start. I was born to Frostfur. My father was Lionheart, one of ThunderClan's past deputies. He died in a battle with ShadowClan. I met my father only twice before him being killed. Once after he died. My father's death is the only traumatizing thing that really happened to me, but I was a little kit, less than a moon old when I died. I don't remember how he was when he was alive. I met his StarClan form at the Moonstone upon almost reaching warrior-ship. I've been talking an awful lot about my father, so I guess I'll tell you a little bit about me and Scratchwind. Were were closer than typical brothers and sisters because ThunderClan was going through a dark time, as it is still in it's dark stage. Frostfur told us to stay close with each other. And we became pretty close, until we became warriors. We aren't as close now, but our bond can never be broken." Larchsky meowed.

Larchsky looked at her paws as if she expected criticism for such an easy life.

"What is your insight on Scratchwind and my relationship?" Swanstep questioned.

"I'm glad he's finally found some cat that I really like. For a period of time, he liked- never mind. But yeah, you're a great friend." Larchsky meowed.

They walked back in awkward silence. Once they reached the camp, Scratchwind barged into her.

"There you are! I was afraid that you had died or something!" Scratchwind exclaimed.

"I'd be fine." Swanstep meowed, her voice firm, a glare to Scratchwind.  
"Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you are incapable of caring for yourself. I know that your skills are great, but I can't help being worried over you." Scratchwind meowed.

Swanstep could no longer stay angry at the sweet tom.

"It's okay." Swanstep meowed.

"Are you hungry?" Scratchwind asked.

"I guess." Swanstep replied, casting a glance at Larchsky. Larchsky looked very distant, but there was hurt in her eyes.

Larchsky stood there for a few moments, before walking off.

Does she miss the close relationship between her and her brother or something?

"What do you want to eat?" Scratchwind asked.

Swanstep shrugged, her mind still on Larchsky's reaction.

"Okay, I'll just get a squirrel." Scratchwind meowed, observing her face for any signs of reaction.

Swanstep numbly nodded while focusing on her thoughts.

-12 moons later-

Larchsky had slowly drifted away from Swanstep, after Swanstep had confronted Larchsky about her odd behavior. Larchsky refused to provide an explanation, instead just looking at a blade of grass.

Now, she had new best friends:  
Snowspike and Sageflower.

They were apprentices when Swanstep had first joined, and were now two-moon warriors.

When Swanstep had joined, she would have been the age of a newly-named warrior, just as Scratchwind and Larchsky had been.

"Hey, Swanstep! Do you mind- you know, dealing with Cloudypaw?" Silverpelt meowed.

Swanstep's head snapped up, she was still drowsy.

"Cloudypaw?" she meowed.

"Yeah, he looks up to you and you're the only one he'll listen to." Silverpelt meowed.

Cloudypaw was an apprentice who was crazy stubborn, and was rude to almost everyone. Larchsky had been given the hard task of teaching the apprentice.

"Sure." she responded.

Though she and Larchsky weren't close anymore, she had to make sacrifices for the good of the clan.

She followed the pair of apprentice and mentor into the forest.

Cloudypaw was bouncing up and down when realizing that Swanstep was to train with them.

"Yay! What are we going to do today? Surely we are to learn fighting or hunting?" Cloudypaw exclaimed.

Larchsky looked over at Swanstep, her gaze shadowed with tiredness.

 _What's wrong with Larchsky? She seems so sad..._

She decided to not worsen the situation.

"So, what are we to do?" Swanstep prompted awkwardly.

"You go ahead, Swanstep." Larchsky meowed.

Doubt seemed to be shadowing Larchsky's eyes.

After a long day of battle training with Cloudypaw, Swanstep herself was worn out. Surprisingly, Cloudypaw was still energetic, racing around the forest.

"Okay, now we have to go back to camp." Swanstep meowed.

"Sure." Cloudypaw meowed.

He was oddly cooperative when he wanted to.

Larchsky was padding stiffly back to camp, trailing behind them.

Her expression looked old and worried.

"Cloudypaw, go back to camp." Swanstep ordered. The apprentice did not hesitate to follow her order.

She walked back to match Larchsky's slow pace.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I don't know. Nothing." Larchsky meowed, adverting her gaze to the ground, refusing to look at Swanstep.

"Is it a problem with me?" Swanstep asked.

"No, it isn't your fault at all." Larchsky meowed, voice trembling.

"Don't lie. There's a problem. Every time I wake up, y0ur eyes are gleaming in the darkness sleeplessly. There's something wrong, or you wouldn't be awake all the time." Swanstep meowed, eyes round with seriousness.

Larchsky stopped walking, and just sat.

"You wouldn't understand." she meowed.

"Why wouldn't I understand? You know, you can trust me with anything." Swanstep urged.

"You wouldn't understand because I don't understand." Larchsky sobbed.

"What is the problem?" Swanstep questioned, putting her tail on Larchsky's shoulder.

"I don't know.. just, everything! My eyesight is worsening, my skills are worsening, everything!" Larchsky cried miserably.

Swanstep stared at Larchsky, shocked. Larchsky was literally a model to her. And wait: her eyesight was worsening? At such a young.. it couldn't be!

 **So, if you don't know what happened, basically I deleted a lot of my story and replaced it with dialogue 3 times... silly me. I had to re-write the whole thing as I had not backed it up prior to the incident. Thanks to MagaNerd for telling me :)  
So I ended up re-typing the whole thing.**

 **Anyways, I just wanted to apologize to anyone waiting on this story, I just had many complications with school and schedule, now that it's nearing summer; I hope to promise you I can update every single week until this is finished.**

 ***Will be updating next week***

 **Love y'all!  
~Waterfall~**


	7. Trouble for all

**Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. On my last chapter I posted, I said I would update next week. Little did I know, that was such a big lie. Here I am, two years later... finally updating what I said that I would do TWO YEARS AGO. In short, I was having problems logging into my account. I forgot my email password, so therefore couldn't reset the account password. I just kind of gave up on finding it, and I randomly stumbled across it this weekend. I logged in, and it worked. I am genuinely so sorry for this long two-year wait.**

"Have you checked in with Spottedleaf and Silverpelt?" Swanstep asked.

Larchsky shook her head.

"Why did you cut me out of your life? What's wrong?" Swanstep was concerned about her friend's well being.

"My life." Larchsky meowed, bitterness in her joke.

"I'm sorry-" Swanstep began.

"No need to be sorry, it was not your fault. I'm not even mad at you." Larchsky meowed, turning around.

"Than what _is_ wrong?" Swanstep asked.

Larchsky shrugged. "I guess everything's just been getting to me."

"Just stop loathing yourself, I look up to you. You helped me, I know it can be a little hard to believe; but we look up to you." Swanstep meowed.

"Thanks." Larchsky meowed.

"Can we be friends again?" Swanstep meowed, touching her tail to Larchsky's shoulder.

"Of course." Larchsky meowed, putting her own tail on Swanstep's shoulder.

Larchsky seemed to lift, as if an ancient wrong was made right.

"So, you're happy now?" Swanstep meowed with a smile.

"Um, so, yeah. I was just feeling really, at a low point in my life when you came. I befriended you, and I was happy. But ever since our friendship break-up, I've been just going back to that low point. Yeah." Larchsky meowed, shuffling her paws.

"Okay." Swanstep meowed. She didn't understand, but the least she could do is be a good friend; right?

They walked quietly together back to camp, not uttering a single word along the way.

"Thank you, Swanstep." Larchsky whispered under her breath.

"That's what friends are for, Larchsky. You should go tell Silverpelt and Spottedleaf about your worsening eyesight.. it's worrying." Swanstep meowed.

"I will.. and also, don't tell Scratchwind yet. I'd like to tell him slowly, by myself." Larchsky meowed gloomily.

"Don't worry, I won't." Swanstep assured.

She watched as Larchsky went to Silverpelt's den, hoping for the best.

"Swanstep!" Scratchwind meowed, barreling toward her.

"Scratchwind, hey!" she meowed.

"How was training Cloudypaw?" Scratchwind asked.

"Fine." she shrugged.

"Would you like to share a mouse with me?" Scratchwind offered.

"I guess.." Swanstep meowed.

Scratchwind picked up the mouse, they shared the meal in silence.

"What's wrong?" Scratchwind asked.

"Um-nothing. Just thinking about Cloudypaw's training. He won't listen to anyone but me." she meowed.

"Then how is he going to be trained?" Scratchwind meowed.

"Yeah, that's the thing." Swanstep meowed, relieved that Scratchwind had fallen for the cover-up lie that she had made.

"Hey Scratchwind, mind going on a patrol?" Snowspike meowed.

"Sure." Scratchwind shrugged, and pelted off after saying goodbye.

Swanstep finished the rest of the mouse. She would go check on Larchsky tomorrow, since she had not yet come out of the medicine cat den.

 _I hope she's okay._

Swanstep went to sleep with a mind full of worries.

In the morning, she checked on Larchsky, who was asleep.

"Silverpelt, how's Larchsky doing?" she asked.

"Well, that's an issue. I don't know how to fix her. I'm planning to go see the medicine cats from the other clans and see if they have dealt with something similar and can provide solutions." Silverpelt meowed.

"She'll get better, right?" Swanstep asked.

"I can't say. I've never heard of such a case like hers. Most eyesight problems are caused by a physical injury of the eyes. In Larchsky's case, she seems to have a disease. It's likely that she will lose her eyesight." Silverpelt meowed.

"Wait, she may not get better?" Swanstep meowed, horrified.

"I don't know yet, hope for the best. She's in StarClan's paws now. I'll have to go to Bluestar's den to tell Bluestar that Larchsky will be unable to do her warrior duties now." Silverpelt meowed.

Swanstep bursted out of the den.

Sageflower and Snowspike were sitting together.

"Swanstep! There you are, we were waiting for you." Sageflower meowed.

"Yeah, you'll never guess what happened!" Snowspike exclaimed excitedly.

Swanstep tried to seem normal, but she wasn't exactly in her usual cheery mood after hearing about Larchsky's possible loss of eyesight.

"What happened?" Swanstep asked, trying to seem excited for her friend's news. In reality, she was feeling hollow and worried for Larchsky.

"Sageflower has been given the task of training Cloudypaw." Snowspike said with a purr of amusement.

Sageflower glared at Snowspike.

"I know Cloudypaw isn't the most _obedient_ apprentice, there's no reason to speak ill of my new apprentice." Sageflower meowed. Swanstep could tell that Sageflower was unhappy about being given such a difficult apprentice.

"Come on, Cloudypaw isn't _that_ bad." Swanstep said, attempting to cheer her friend up.

"Easy for you to say, Cloudypaw listens to your every command because of his admiration for you. Bluestar should have assigned you to train Cloudypaw." Sageflower said bitterly.

"Hey, look at the positives. Bluestar wouldn't assign an apprentice to you if she didn't believe in your ability to train an apprentice well. Bluestar also wouldn't assign you Cloudypaw specifically if she didn't think you could handle him." Swanstep meowed encouragingly.

"You really think so?" Sageflower meowed.

"You'll be alright. I know it." Swanstep's confident words shocked herself also.

"Thanks. I really needed that." Sageflower meowed. The gratitude shone in her eyes.

"That was the most inspirational thing I've ever heard in my life. Please stop it, your positivity hurts me." Snowspike said jokingly. All three of the cats shared a _mrrow_ of laughter.

 **So, my publishing schedule is still undecided. I'm not sure when I will be able to update, as I don't have as much time as I once did two years ago. I don't know if anyone will still read this story, but I want to apologize to the original owner of this story: Drizzlestorm313. I'm sorry that you didn't see any story progress for 2 years. Drizzlestorm313's new name is Drizzle The Rain Goddess. Just to let you know, I am STILL going to go through with my original promise that I WILL always finish what I have started. I will finish this story eventually, no matter how long this takes. Thank you if you read this.**

 **~Waterfall**


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